By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Daylon Hernandez and Joaquin Ovalle both scored during the first half and goalkeeper Luis Beadle recorded a clean sheet for Harlingen South in a 2-0 road victory over rival Harlingen High on Tuesday.
The Hawks (1-3 32-6A) picked up their first District 32-6A win in the process, setting up a battle between the Cardinals (2-3 32-6A) and San Benito for the final playoff spot.
“Coming in, we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Harlingen South coach Julian Robles said. “We knew (Harlingen High coach Johnny Guillen) was going to have them prepared, and they were prepared for us.”
Hernandez got the Hawks on the board quickly, striking at the 37-minute mark of the first half.
“We got a jump early with a goal,” Robles said. “Which was really lucky on our part. We had planned and trained for that, we had chances before but we hadn’t taken advantage of them, but (Tuesday night) we did.”
With nine minutes to play in the first half, Ovalle came through with an insurance goal to double the visitors’ lead.
Robles said his team’s main objective was to improve the way the players passed the ball and control the tempo of the game.
“First and foremost, we wanted to move the ball well,” Robles said. “They did an excellent job of moving the ball. … I told them, ‘If you control the tempo of the game, you’re going to take the crowd out of it, you’re going to settle down and keep your head in the game, and that’s all you have to do.’”
Things picked up for the Cardinals during the second half, but Harlingen High squandered several opportunities to exploit its set pieces, missing the mark on free kicks on a few occasions and having another chance negated by an offside whistle.
Next up for Harlingen High is a visit to Brownsville Rivera. Harlingen South will play host to Brownsville Hanna. Both games are set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday.